Chrysapha: Palaikastro
| PK | C5060 |
| TITLE | Chrysapha: Palaikastro |
| WGS84 | 37.071207° N, 22.535248° E |
| Accuracy | 100 m. |
| LAT/LON | 37.071207, 22.535248 |
| LON/LAT | 22.535248, 37.071207 |
| DMS | 37° 4' 16.3452" N | , | 22° 32' 6.8928" E |
| W3W | degrading, squinted, hairier |
| UTM | 34 S, 636477, 4103874 |
| EGSA87 | 369640, 4103487 |
| Elevation m | 479 |
| Elevation feet | 1571.5 |
| Region | Laconia |
GENERAL SITE TYPE Pottery
TYPE
1. hab. Bintliff [1977a], 382 Following Laconia I, '...Palaikastro has limited prehistoric finds, possibly Neolithic, definitely Early Helladic, questionable Late Helladic; ...'2. hab. Banou [1996], 44 '...mykenischen Fundortes...'
3. Lithics. Laconia I, 82 'E.H. sherds and obsidian are abundant, ...'
4. Sherds. Laconia I, 82 'E.H. sherds and obsidian are abundant, ...'
5. Sherds. Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 111 'The EH and later pottery was found over most of the top surface...'
PERIOD (High Chronology)
1. EH: (3100 BC - 2000 BC)
a. Laconia I: 82, 'E.H. sherds and obsidian are abundant, ...'
b. Bintliff [1977a]: 382, '...Palaikastro has limited prehistoric finds, possibly Neolithic, definitely Early Helladic, ...'
2. EH II: (2700 BC - 2200 BC)
a. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 111, 'EH II C H'
3. Late Helladic: (1700 BC - 1050 BC)
a. Banou [1996]: 44, '...mykenischen...'
b. Laconia I: 83, 'The site may have been occupied also in the L.H. period, but it would never have been of importance.'
c. Bintliff [1977a]: 382, '..., questionable Late Helladic; ...'
NOTE
1. The site of Chrysapha was definitely identified by Cavanaugh et al. in their Laconia Survey [1996]. In their catalogue it is 'U3001 Palaikastro/Agios Nikolaos' and should be the same site described in Laconia I, p. 82. The site is characterized as the end of a spur reaching into the Chrysapha Valley from the SE. The top is about 150 m across and is covered with stone walls and mandres. This description fits the site that I have chosen. Banou [1996] 44 says this "Since the exact location of the former Mycenaean site on the plain of Chrysapha is not indicated, one wonders whether the two foundations of the project "Laconia Survey" and that of Hope Simpson (1960), apparently about 1 km to the east, do not belong together, even though Hope Simpson does not mention Mycenaean sherds coming from Palaikastro." Banou supposed that the Laconia Survey and Hope Simpson are indicating two different sites about 1 km. distant from each other. I am somewhat mystified by her statement because the position I have indicated seems quite compatible with both gazetteers. I believe that it would be safe, as Banou suggests, to assume that the Laconia Survey and Waterhouse/Simpson do mean the same position when they refer to 'Palaikastro'. The site of Palaikastro does not itself seem to have been the site of Mycenaean activity; neither of our principal sources indicate LH finds there, nonetheless this extensive plain may very possibly have been the scene of Mycenaean settlement or occupation. The reader should exercise caution. A plausible alternative site for 'Palaikastro' is just across the Revma on the next hilltop to the S at 37.069602, 22.536345. This is about 200 m. distant on a bearing FROM our marker of 152.04 degrees.
rhc
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Banou [1996]: Banou, Emilia. Beitrag zum Studium Lakoniens in der mykenischen Zeit. Albert-Ludwigs-Universität zu Freiburg. 1996, '14. Chrysapha: Palaikastro', pg. 44.
2. Bintliff [1977a]: Bintliff, John L.. Natural Environment and Human Settlement in Prehistoric Greece; based on original fieldwork, Part ii. BAR Supplementary Series 28(ii). British Archaeological Reports. 122, Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England., 'Summary of Excavations', pg. 382.
Online here.
3. Cavanagh et al. [1996]: Cavanagh, William & Joost Crouwel, R. W. V. Catling, Graham Shipley, Pamela Armstrong, Tristan Carter, David Hibler, Richard Jones, Jo Lawson, Marco Overbeek, Apostolos Sarris, Heleen Visscher And Mark Ydo . Continuity and Change in a Greek Rural Landscape: The Laconia Survey. Volume II: Archaeological Data. The British School at Athens. Supplementary Volumes, No. 27, pp. iii-xxx, 1-459. 1996, 'U3001 Palaikastro/Ágios Nikólaos', pg. 111.
Online here.
4. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: Simpson, Richard Hope and O.T.P.K. Dickinson. A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilization in the Bronze Age, Vol. I: The Mainland and the Islands. Paul Åströms Förlag, Goteborg. 1979., 'C 10 Chrysapha: Palaikastro', pg. 111.
The authors say 'The low hill of Palaikastro is the tip of a spur projecting into the valley c. 2.5 km. S of Chrysapha.'
Online here.
5. Laconia I: Waterhouse, Helen and R. Hope Simpson. ‘Prehistoric Laconia: Part I’, The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 55, pp.67-107, 1960, 'Chrysapha', pg. 82.
'The top of Palaikastro is now covered with the remains of stone huts and sheepfolds ('mandres') over its breadth of 150 metres.'
Online here.